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News Release T: 605.773.3455 |
| For Immediate Release 23 March, 2001
Board of Regents Review Fall 2000 Proficiency Exam Results South Dakota Students Excel in Science BROOKINGS-The South Dakota Board of Regents, at its regular business meeting on the South Dakota State University campus, heard a report today on the results of the fall 2000 administration of the proficiency examinations taken by sophomores enrolled in the six regental universities. A system-wide total of 2,305 rising juniors were required to sit for the proficiency exam for the first time in fall 2000. "The system average for South Dakota public universities continues to exceed the national comparison mean in all subject areas, however the area where South Dakota students show the most strength is science, said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett. According to the report, in the area of science reasoning 99.2% of students taking the proficiency exam for the first time in fall 2000 obtained a score at or above the minimum level of performance. Ninety-seven percent of the students met the minimum level of performance in mathematics, 96.1% did so in reading and 92.3% in the area of writing skills. The greatest percentage of students scoring at or above the 99th percentile was in the area of science reasoning at 5.1%. In the area of reading, 5.0% of the students scored at or above the 99th percentile and in the areas of writing skills and mathematics the percentages were 2.2% and 1.5% respectively. "The Regents initiated the proficiency exam to determine the value added to the education of students through the general education curriculum. Results of the exam have continued to show that the value added to education at South Dakota universities exceeds national averages. The Regents will continue to use the proficiency exam as a tool to expose the strengths and weaknesses in the education received by our students," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry. The tables below display the results of the fall 2000 proficiency exam. Passing Rates by Test Area
Percentage of SD Students Scoring at or Above the 99th
Percentile by Test
Comparison of Test Score Means
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